Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) have been around for many years now, and over that time, gamers have developed their own language and list of terms and terminologies. The community of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventure (AoC) will make use of these terms just like the players of the previous generations of MMORPG's before them. AoC will bring many new players to the MMORPG genre and to the newcomer these terms can be very confusing. To aid in the learning of the MMORPG language, Ten Ton Hammer has developed a list of commonly used terms, terminologies, and abbreviations to aid those new to the genre in learning the language of online gaming.

Name

Description

1337

1337 or l33t is another way people refer to the word LEET which is short for Elite. Players often use this to claim they are superior.

1h

Used to refer to one-handed weapons. This term is also sometimes used as 1hb, 1hp, or 1hs meaning one-hand blunt, one-hand pierce or one-hand slash.

2h

Used to refer to two-handed weapons. This term is also sometimes used as 2hb, 2hp, or 2hs meaning two-hand blunt, two hand pierce, or two-hand slash.

AC

This refers to the Armor Class of a character. It is associated with a characters defensive ability to mitigate non-magical damage.

Add

Add is a term used to describe an extra and often unintended creature joining the battle. If a fellow group member says, "Add." You can expect more company.

Aggro

This is the term used to describe hatred from an enemy. A tank will want to keep aggro as it will keep the enemy focused on him. This can also be used to alert the group that an enemy has attacked. (Note: Tanks may say, "I'll keep aggro on the enemy." A group member who unwittingly has been attacked may simply say, "Aggro!")

AFK

AFK simply means Away From Keyboard. Pay attention to this in groups as a key member may be absent for a moment.

Alt

Alt is a term used to describe alternate characters a player has that they are not currently playing.

AoE

AoE is used to describe attacks that do splash damage and can hit more than one target. It means Area of Effect. This is sometimes abbreviated as AE for Area Effect.

AP

This term can mean two things as it refers to a characters attack power or ability points.

Assist

A term used to instruct others to assist a certain person in combat to ensure focused attacks.

Bio

Bio is a term used by players to indicate they need or are taking a bathroom break.

BOA

A term meaning Bind on Acquire for items that bind to your character when acquired.

BOE

A term meaning Bind on Equip for items that bind to your character when equipped.

BOP

A term meaning Bind on Pickup for items that bind to your character when they are picked up.

Boss

This term is used to describe boss monsters or signature creatures in an area. In an instance this slaying a boss may be the final objective for a quest. In some cases a boss is a bonus and may just yield more loot.

Brb

This is similar to AFK and simply means Be Right Back. Players often use both to let others know they are stepping away from the game for a moment.

BRT

This stands for Be Right There. this is used to let players know you are on the way. (Thanks Ranalin)

Bug

A bug is a glitch in the game. They take many shapes and a general description is something within the gaming world that is not working as intended. You can report these in most MMORPG's with a /bug command.

Buff

A buff is a beneficial spell that can be cast on oneself or an ally. These spells benefit the player with various effects such as armor class enhancement, hit point and mana regeneration, or other increased statistics.

Camp

A camp is referred to a position in some games where a group will sit and continually kill things as they spawn. A camp is also referred to an area of enemy inhabitants such as a Pict camp.

Care Bear

This is a term often used by PvPers to insult PvEers.

CC

CC is short for Crowd Control. CC skills are often used to help keep an encounter under control. By using a root or mez skill, players can effectively control the crowd making it easier for their group to handle.

Class

Class refers to the chosen archetype of a character such as a Guardian or Demonologist.

Con

Con is a term used to signify difficulty. In many MMOG's a con utilizes a color coded system to measure difficulty.

Cone

Some spells use a cone area effect which is what this term refers to. A cone area is often a line of sight arc in front of the character.

Corpse

Corpse can refer to the dead body of an enemy or an ally. In either case, somebody is going to want to loot it. If the corpse is of a fallen ally, they will want to recover it in most cases to either regain their gear or to cut the penalty of death.

Crafting/Trade

Crafting is the trade skills of any MMOG. Players can often choose a trade skill and work to increase that trade. Often times players will refer to a players crafting choice as a craft or trade.

DD

DD is short for Direct Damage or Damage Dealer. These are high powered skills and spells that deal a huge amount of damage upon a successful use.

Debuff/Gimp

Debuffing an enemy will cast a skill or spell on them that will affect their stats or skills in a negative way. This is referred to as a debuff or gimping the mob.

Def or Defense

This term means defense and is also used to refer to a characters armor class or defensive rating.

Ding

Ding is a universal constant in every MMOG. When you hear a player say, "Ding!" More than likely they just gained a level. Offer them a grats and move on.

DOT

Dot is a Damage Over Time skill or spell that will cause the target to suffer a constant amount of damage over a given time period.

Dps

Dps is the measurement of Damage Per Second. This is also sometimes used to refer to a class that deals high damage. If a member suggest you find more Dps they are referring to a high damage dealing class.

Drop

Drop is a loot term used to describe what a creature might drop. (Example: Uber Troll of Forum Flaming drops the Awesome Sword of the Pwned.)

DS

This term means Damage Shield which is a spell or effect placed on a player that when struck returns damage to the attacker.

Emote

This term refers to ingame character animations that can be activated with slash commands. See a list here.

Epic

Epic refers to epic quests and epic weapons. These can be and often are class specific.

Exp or Xp

Exp and Xp refer to experience. This is the currency of leveling in most MMOG's. To gain levels you need Exp.

Exploit

An exploit is a flaw in the game that can be used to bypass the game in a way that was unintended. These can include safe spots that allow you to kill a creature while never getting hit or perhaps leveling up through a bug that was never intended to be part of the game. Using an exploit is also considered cheating.

Faction

Through the lands there can be many Factions. A faction is a group of people that players can earn favor with in some way or another. Often times if you can earn faction you will be able to obtain tasks or items specific to that faction and only obtainable by those in good standing with them.

Farm

When you continually camp an area for certain items of money it is referred to as farming. There are generally two types of farming in an MMOG. The farming done by players to further their characters by earning the goods and the farming done by gold sellers with the intent to sell the gold from the farming for real world currency, which is against the End User License Agreement of most MMOG's.

FFA

This term means Free For All. This can either be a loot term meaning players are free to loot at will or in some cases it means FFA PvP which is open PvP and every man for himself.

FFS

A term expressing frustration or exasperation. An abbreviation of "For Frack's Sake"

FTL

A term meaning For the Loss.

FTW

A term meaning For the Win.

Ganked

In a Player vs Player (PvP) area or server, players who are lower in level are subject to being ganked. Getting Ganked is when a player is unsuspectingly slaughtered by another character. This can vary in level and circumstance.

GM

GM's are the Game Masters. They serve as the customer service representatives in the gaming world for a company. They help with in-game issues and sometimes run events for the players.

Grats

A short term meaning congratulations. Usually given to a player after gaining a level or wining a good item.

Griever or Griefer

A Griever or Griefer (people use both terms) is an undesirable character who gets their kicks from causing other players to suffer in-game. This can be anything from spamming a player all the way to direct harassment by interfering with the players ability to play the game. These are often sad lonely people who's only purpose in life is to make others miserable.

Group

Players often form groups to experience game content. This can consist of a varying number of players. This term can also refer to a group of enemies.

Group Leader

The group leader is the person who formed the group. This person will have control of the loot commands and will usually be in charge of leading the group.

Guild

A guild is a large collection of players who have unified under one banner. These players will often times be made up of like-minded people who enjoy the same style of play. The hierarchy of a guild consists of one leader, several officers, and the members.

Healer

The healer is the backbone of any group. It is there job to ensure that the group is healed of wounds before they suffer a sudden case of death. If a member does suffer an untimely demise, it is the healer who will bring them back from the jaws of death.

HoT

Heal Over Time spells are skills that will heal a player for a certain amount over a given time. (Example: Lowbie Heal heals the player for 35 hit points every 6 seconds for 30 seconds.)

INC

INC is short for Incoming. This is often a phrase used by tanks, but its purpose is to inform the group that an enemy is on the way.

Instance

Instances come in two forms. Private instances are areas where a player or a group can enter to engage in combat alone and undisturbed by anyone outside the group. The second instance type is a zone instance. In Age of Conan areas will be instanced in certain cases to add more real-estate. So you may see more than one open area instance with many players in it.

Kite

Kiting is a term used by players who use skills or spells with speed enhancing or debuffing abilities to pull an enemy like a kite. The payer is allowed to keep ahead of the creature and deal damage from a distance while dragging the enemy around behind them. Hence the term kiting.

KoS

KoS is an abbreviated term meaning Kill on Site. This is used to refer to any faction or character that will attack a player upon noticing their presence.

KS

A term meaning Kill Stealer. Often used when a person steals someone else's kill.

(Note: A special thanks to all our community members that aided in this update with additional terms.)

About The Author

Stacy "Martuk" Jones was a long-time news editor and community manager for many of our previous game sites, such as Age of Conan. Stacy has since moved on to become a masked super hero, battling demons in another dimension.